


Creating Eden

by HPman213



Category: Far Cry 5, Far Cry: New Dawn
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-05-15 06:24:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19290025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HPman213/pseuds/HPman213
Summary: Despite his best intentions to be the hero Hope County needed, Sheriff's Deputy Mike Graves found himself unable to prevent the nuclear holocaust that laid waste to his home, and presumably killed those he cared about most. Saved from the chaos by Joseph Seed, and imprisoned in a bunker, he eventually gives into the grief and guilt that plagues his mind, and begins to listen to what Joseph is trying to tell him. In the seventeen years before Thomas Rush and his Captain of Security make their way to Hope County, the Deputy who was once a hero became The Judge, a shadow of his former self who serves his former enemy... what led such an honorable man to stoop to such a level, and what did he do before, and during the events that would shape the future of a post-apocalyptic Hope County?





	1. Eight Months Underground

**Author's Note:**

> After playing through Far Cry: New Dawn again, I ended up getting pretty annoyed with how Ubisoft handled The Judge. For someone who was supposed to be the protagonist of the previous game, they didn't have much of an impact on the world, nor did any of the characters who directly knew them have any real reaction to their change in state, save for the same lines of dialogue being repeated over and over. So, I decided to expand on The Judge as a character, starting back at the end of Far Cry 5, and following them as they changed into what we saw in New Dawn before showing the events of the game from their perspective.
> 
> Before the story actually starts, I want to clarify that the text in italics are flashbacks, not sure if I need to say that, but I occasionally forgot that they were flashbacks so I just want to make sure that nobody else got confused. 
> 
> Anyways, hope you enjoy.

“What do you feel, my Son? Rage? Angst?”

“Guilt”

“Ah! He finally speaks! And he speaks of guilt… perhaps John and I were mistaken when naming your sin, you are not a vessel of Wrath, you do not fight for vengeance, nor Pride, because someone emanating the worst of all sins would not admit fault… and yet here you sit, feeling guilt. You… are Greed. You want to fix things… you won’t let people help themselves and instead must fix things for them… you must be the savior, and feel that it is your destiny, greed drives you to be the hero.”

“Fuck you, Joseph.”

“You will open up, one small step at a time.”

It had been eight months since the world ended. Eight months since Mike Graves was nothing but a Junior Deputy in the Hope County Sheriff's Department who was tasked with serving an arrest warrant for Joseph Seed, the leader of a cult that was slowly overtaking his home of Hope County, things for him fell apart after that. The arrest was a failure, he was forced to join a resistance against Eden’s Gate as the group engulfed everything in sight to prepare for what Joseph predicted as the end of the world… and the worst part was that the man ended up being right.

_“It’s over, Joseph, keep your hands up.” Mike held the crazed fanatic at gunpoint as his friends came up from behind, his superior, and mentor Sheriff Wihtehorse readied his handcuffs as he approached._

_“Joseph Seed, you are under arrest.” The Sheriff stood Joseph up and cuffed him. The rest of the group, Mikes friends and brothers in arms stood next to him, relieved that his was over._

_"And I heard a great voice from the temple say to the Angels…  go your ways! And pour from the vials the wrath of God upon the Earth.” None of the resistance members paid attention to the crazed ramblings, even as the distant whine of sirens echoed throughout the valley. Joseph stopped speaking, and stared directly at Mike._

_Then a light, blindingly bright erupted to the north, Eden's Gate compound was now bathed in an orange hue as a mushroom cloud rose of the Whitetail Mountains. Joseph walked as close as he could toward Mike, no longer the center of attention as everyone but the Junior Deputy stared in awe at the apocalypse. After a brief moment of silence, the prophet spoke._

_“It is finished, Child”_

_“Oh my God, oh my God!” muttered Nick Rye, who was arguably Mike’s closest friend as he looked on helplessly,  most likely thinking of his wife and newborn daughter back home a few miles down the road. Over the gasps of all present, Joseph began to sing Amazing Grace as a shockwave ripped across the lake and knocked everyone to the ground._

_“We have to get the fuck out of here! The truck! Move, move!” Sheriff Whitehorse grabbed Joseph and ushered everyone to the nearest pickup, Mike took the wheel and began driving like a madman to the one safe place he knew of, Dutches Bunker. Dodging falling trees, massive rockslides and other, less fortunate drivers, the bunker grew closer and closer, however all the skilled driving in the world couldn’t save Mike, Sheriff Whitehorse, Deputies Pratt, Hudson and Joseph Seed himself from a fifty-foot tall pine tree, set ablaze by nuclear fire from collapsing right in front of the truck, Mike couldn’t brake in time._

_"Wha-what the fuck happened? Sheriff? Pratt? Hudson? Where are you guys?” Mike soon realized he was safely sitting in the bunker, right next to the bed he was handcuffed to when he first met Dutch only a few weeks ago, but Dutch wasn’t there to greet him. Laying next to Mike was the old man’s fresh corpse, recoiling in shock, Mike attempted to jump to his feet, but found himself handcuffed to the bed once more, the figure standing near him was not Dutch. Instead, standing with his back to the Junior Deputy, was Joseph._

_“You know what this means?” The man asked his captive. “It means the politicians have been silenced, it means the corporations have been erased, it means the world has been cleansed by God’s righteous fire! But… most of all… it means I was right. The Collapse has come, the world as we know it… is over. I waited so long… so long for the prophecy God whispered in my ear to be fulfilled… I prepared my family for this moment. And you… you took them from me. I should kill you for what you’ve done. But you’re all I have left now… you’re my family. And when this world is ready to be born anew… we will step into the light. I am your father, and you are my child… and together we will march to Eden’s Gate.”_

Jumping back to the present, Mike felt nothing but grief and guilt. He felt like this was all his fault, that maybe Jacob Seed was right, that if he had simply offed himself, this wouldn’t have happened. He hoped that the people he cared about were still alive, but knew he was kidding himself, for all he knew, Joseph was the only other person left on the Earth, and the remote thought of something that bleak made him want to fade away even more. Joseph, after watching the former deputy zone out into his thoughts for some time, stood up from the lone chair he kept in the room for his daily attempts to coax a response from his so-called child and walked out, closing the heavy door behind him.

“Eight months of this… of being a prisoner… I-I can’t do this.”

“You’re damn right you can’t, you’re a weakling.”

“Who’s there?” Mike snapped his head up and scanned the room, finding nobody he grew concerned for his sanity.

“I am…” Seemingly walking out of thin air was Jacob Seed, the Social-Darwinist, survival-of-the-fittest psychopath that had brainwashed Mike into killing Eli, the leader of the Whitetail Militia, and for many, the only hope of beating Eden’s Gate.

“You’re pathetic, all the work that went into you… and here you are, a broken man. You really were nothing but a pawn.” Jacob sat down in Joseph’s chair and glared daggers at the deputy.

“What the fuck is happening to me?” Mike whimpered, looking more defeated than before.

“The human mind is a fragile machine, too much strain and it breaks, not enough use… and it falls apart. Being alone with my brother is breaking you down, making you weak and vulnerable. If I were still breathing I’d cull you here and now.” Jacob continued to stare at Mike, who was now looking directly at the hallucination.

“So I’m going insane? Of fucking course I am! I’m talking with a voice that’s inside my head… go to hell Jacob.”

“We’re already rotting in hell by being here, you moron. Or at least I am, my brother seems to have some form of respect for you… I, however have nothing but contempt.” Now standing beside his brother, placing a hand on his shoulder, was John, the third and final Seed brother. “Seems that we’re here to torment you, which I will thoroughly enjoy.” the hallucination said with a smirk. Out of all the Seed siblings, Mike hated John the most. Jacob was insane, but he had reasons for his actions, at least some form of reason, John was cruel and sadistic seemingly because he could be, he tortured Mike’s closest friends, terrorized Holland Valley for weeks and caused more pain than the rest of his family combined.

“Go… away. I wouldn’t talk to the two of you before I gunned you down, and I won’t talk to you now that you’re dead.” Mike did his best to ignore the two spectres in front of him, and it seemed to work, as they grew transparent and both turned to leave.

“If that’s what you desire… see you soon.” With a retort from John, the ghosts of the dead Seed brothers vanished, and Mike stared into space, horrified at his lessening mental state.

After a sleepless night, Joseph entered the room once more for another day of grilling, unusually though, Mike gave no response, simply blankly accepting the man’s offer of a military ration. Not eating, the deputy continued to ignore Joseph as he sat down in front of him once more.

“You seem troubled, what is plaguing your mind, my Son?” The question only garnered a mumble from Mike, causing Joseph to lean in closer, “What was that?”

“I said… fuck you.”

“Now, now, my child. I am here to help, tell me what ails you.” Joseph sat back, the rickety chair creaking under the shifting weight.

“I already told you, I feel guilty, that’s all you’re getting from me you psychopath. Now get the fuck out of my cell.”

“You… are mistaken, this is not a prison cell, you are confined to the bed because you have not opened yourself to Eden… to me.”

“I will never open up about anything to you… get away from me.” Muttered Mike, refusing to look Joseph in the eye.

“One day soon… one day.” Said the preacher as he left the room once more.

 Mike, sitting in silence stared at the handcuff clasped around his right wrist, every day he felt more and more broken, more hopeless, he had endured eight months of captivity, but felt weaker and weaker as the days on the calendar kept marching forward. No matter how much the deputy tried to convince himself that the world ending wasn’t his fault, he found less evidence to support the claim. Every member of the Seed family told him to stand down, to stop fighting, seemingly because they knew something he didn’t, and yet their pleads for parlay were ignored in favor of bloodshed. Every Seed, John, Jacob, Faith, every one but Joseph died at his hands, and yet all this crusade of freedom had wrought was more pain and suffering, on a much wider scale. The silence of the small room grew overwhelming, and Mike began to question whether or not his hallucination of Jacob was right… what if Joseph is breaking him down, what if he’ll start telling the man everything.

 Trying to banish such a thought from his mind, he tried to think of something else. But ever since Joseph cuffed him to this bed, the only thing other than his own captivity Mike was able to think about was the people that might not have found somewhere safe to ride out the storm. Nick, his best friend, someone he thought of like a brother. Kim, Nick’s wife, who was the kindest person he’s ever met. Their infant daughter whom he helped bring into the world only a few days before the bombs dropped. Hurk, who could make anyone laugh by doing literally anything. Grace, someone who had accompanied him on many a hunting trek, and who knew how to listen better than anyone else he knew. Jess, someone he trusted more than himself to never make a sound when clearing out an Eden’s Gate outpost. Sharky, the crazy pyromaniac that knew how to have a good time, as long as molotov cocktails were involved. Mary, the barkeep who helped him find the resistance, and who could drink him under the table. And Pastor Jerome, someone that used religion the right way, and never ceased to help those around him.

“They-They’re all fucking gone… and it’s my fault. I couldn’t stop trying to be the hero, they were like my family and I failed to protect them. Jesus… Joseph was right.”

 Feeling worse than he had before, Mike had to put all the energy he had left to fight back the tears that welled up in his eyes. Despite his best efforts, it was becoming clearer and clearer every passing day that he couldn’t keep all of this guilt bottled up, unless he wanted it to completely consume him, but the only person he could talk to, was the one person that he didn’t want to reveal anything to… the manipulative Joseph Seed.


	2. Broken Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've written two chapters of Creating Eden so far, so I decided to post the second one to add more to the story, I'll hold off on posting the third chapter though so anyone who wants to give constructive criticism or some things they want to see can have time to post them down in the comments. 
> 
> Aside from that note, there's nothing else to say, enjoy chapter two of Creating Eden.

It was morning, at least, Mike assumed it was morning, there wasn’t a clock in his room, but based on distant humming as Joseph presumably made himself breakfast he understood that another night of little sleep had passed. It had been two weeks since he hallucinated Jacob and John’s ghosts appearing before him, and beside the occasional disembodied antagonistic voice, the spectres had yet to physically show themselves since that day. Earlier that night, while trying, and failing to sleep, Mike had found a small paperclip underneath the mattress of his bed, removing the contraband clip from its new home in his pocket, he used his free hand to straighten it out, and began to attempt picking the lock of the cuff holding him captive on the bed. However, Mike was never great at picking locks.

_“Well it’s sealed tight.” The deputy exclaimed with a huff, tossing his tension rod to the ground, its small aluminum form clanging loudly._

_“Well that can’t be right, why would they make a safe that can’t be lock-picked?” Hurk sauntered out of another room in the now-clear Eden’s Gate outpost. He started to walk toward his friend before being distracted by a poster on the wall of the garage the two stood in._

_“Isn’t the whole point of a safe to make sure people can’t get in without a key? Why would someone make a safe that can be picked?” Nick, while usually reserved to being the resistance’s close air support, always made sure that Mike and anyone fighting with him wore headsets, so he could make sure the one-liners he says before strafing the enemy wouldn’t fall on deaf ears, and so he could join in on the conversation._

_"What if you forget your key? And then boom! Your beer money is gone forever!” Hurk, who had no idea how to pick a lock resorted to tapping the steel exterior of the safe with a monkey wrench._

_“Look… I have some C-4, I’m just going to blow the bitch open.” With that, Mike tore off a small chunk of the plastic explosive, and rigged a detonator to it before sticking the device near the safe’s lock._

_“Now you’re talking, good idea bro!” Hurk jogged out of the garage, taking cover next to the deputy behind a car the two hoped was outside of the blast radius._

_“Fire in the hole, I guess.” Mike crouched down and depressed the trigger on the small remote detonator, in an instant a fireball erupted on the front of the safe, which blew the door off with a satisfying metallic pop._

_“Hell yeah!” Shouted Hurk as the man ran toward the garage with more vigor than he’s shown in a while, “Oh man! There’s metal shit all over the place!”_

_Mike jogged into the building seconds after and found the front of the safe sheared off at an angle, with shrapnel scattered across the floor, and a large chunk of the door lodged in the wall. Ignoring Hurk praising his explosive placement skill, he crouched down and reached through the still-smoking safe to grab the treasure inside._

_“Twenty fucking dollars… seriously?!” Nick began to laugh uncontrollably through the deputy’s headset as Mike continued to curse at the now-dead safe owner, “Who puts a single twenty dollar bill in a three hundred pound safe?! What in God’s name is wrong with people?!”_

Snapping back to reality and remembering that he was in the middle of an escape attempt, Mike questioned why he had to conjure up that memory out of the blue, however, his thoughts, and escape attempt were interrupted by a shadow crossing his vision, standing over him was Joseph, holding a key. Reaching down toward Mike’s cuffed hand, Joseph stopped just shy of unlocking the restraint.

“The old man… Dutch, had a geiger counter, I went up by the entrance to the bunker and turned it on… radiation levels are still too high for us to leave and there’s no point in keeping you chained to this bed if we’re both sealed inside underground. Before I free you, I need you to think… is killing me, and living alone in here with your guilty conscience for the next year what you want?”

After a few minutes of silence, Mike looked straight into Joseph’s eyes and spoke, “Being down here alone would be worse than being down here with you… you have my word I won’t harm you… until we get out of here.”

“Very well.” Joseph kneeled down and unlocked the handcuffs, the only thing that kept his captive from exacting revenge was now useless. Standing up quickly, Mike walked past Joseph and stepped into the hallway that ran the length of the bunker, he stood in silence for several minutes, watched by Joseph, before finding his way to the stockpile of food and grabbing the most appetizing surplus ration. After preparing his meal he sat down at a nearby table and began to eat, only stopping to gesture toward Joseph, who had yet to leave the doorway with his spoon.

“Why did you decide to let me go? I could’ve killed you the second you released me.”

Joseph walked toward his now-freed captive and sat across from him, “Because God will not let you kill me, just like he would not let you arrest me all those months ago, we are intertwined in his plan for the world now, we must act as one.”

“What the hell sort of plan would that be?”

“He does not tell me everything at once, he informs me of what to do when he sees fit to do so.”

Mike looked away from Joseph and back toward his food, “Are you sure about the radiation?”

“I’m quite sure that it’s far too dangerous for us.” Joseph narrowed his eyes, trying to decide for himself if his former captive would attempt to flee, and doom them both to a painful demise. Hoping that God’s plan for him does not involve death by fallout, he pressed the question further, “Are you planning on leaving? You wouldn’t make it to Fall’s End before you dropped dead, the radiation is too dangerous.”

“Maybe I’ll try… if I die then what’s the big deal? Nobody I cared about survived that shit storm anyway.” Mike returned his gaze to the man sitting across from him, locking eyes with Joseph.

“You still feel tremendous guilt then, my child? Guilt for something you couldn’t control.” Joseph leaned forward, putting himself closer to the deputy.

“I feel awful, and I know that if I don’t talk about this it will consume me, and that’s not someone I want to become… but I really don’t want to talk to you about this.”

Joseph sat back in his chair, the silence grew as he thought to himself, he knew that this deputy was struggling, but Joseph also understood that if Mike were to become an ally, he would have to choose his words carefully, “Then I won’t speak a word, tell me what you want to tell me, and I will simply listen.”

Taken slightly aback at this impromptu… and extremely unexpected therapy session from someone who, less than a year ago was his hated enemy, Mike still decided to talk, he was simply too worn down by being trapped underground and the endless pain of guilt.

“Why did I survive? Why was I the one who had to live? Whitehorse, Pratt, Hudson, they all deserved to make it as much as I did… and yet you pulled me out of that fucking truck… why didn’t you just leave me to die? Everyone I cared about is gone now… fucking Christ the closest people I had to a family, Nick, Kim, their daughter… my goddaughter… they’re dead. Everything I knew is gone, and I’m still here, if God is merciful why did he let me survive a nuclear holocaust? Wouldn’t the merciful thing be to just let me go?” Mike dropped his head into his hands, not caring that someone who took so much from the people he loved was hearing every word of his guilt-wracked thoughts, he thought about continuing, but knew he had said too much already.

“If I may… would you like to hear a thought or two? I understand how you feel.” By now Joseph had stood up, and was resting a hand on Mike’s shoulder.

“You took everything from me… you killed my entire family, I’m all that’s left of the Seed name… when I die, it dies with me. I feel an immense guilt, feeling that I could have saved them haunts me, and yet I do not make plans to end my life by running out into a blasted hellscape. God has a plan for all of us, and this loss we both feel is but a small part of that plan, they died, and you lived so you could fix the world… in their honor, do not let their deaths be in vain, my son.”

“You sound like Jerome, he always talked about how pain was temporary, and that we had to work through it to become better.” Mike had lifted his head, and turned to face Joseph.

“The pain might fade, or it might stick within you for the rest of your life, but you must wear it like a badge of honor, learn from your mistakes.”

“What do you mean, are you implying this is my fucking fault?” Pushing Joseph back, Mike stepped away from the man who he genuinely thought was attempting to console him.

“Perhaps… in a way this is your doing. You can’t deny that, the events that transpired in Hope County are linked to your actions, I warned you that walking away was the best choice nine months ago, and here we are today. You are greedy, you wanted to save everyone without letting them save themselves… you cannot deny that.”

“Don’t you think I know that?! They’re all dead because of me! When they needed me most I was lying on the floor of this bunker unconscious, and now they’re gone… I can’t forgive myself for this.” Tears welling up in his eyes, Mike sunk down to the floor against the wall, and stared off into space.

“You do not have to forgive yourself, my child.” Joseph sat down next to the grieving deputy, “Because the Lord has already forgiven you. There is work to be done, and he needs you to do it. Do you seek repentance in the eyes of Eden’s Gate?” Joseph knew he was pushing the envelope by asking Mike this question, but if he was to be ready when the time came to leave this bunker, he had to ensure that his former enemy was an unwavering ally.

“I… I do. I will never be able to forgive myself for this, but if the Lord will forgive me, then maybe I don’t have to.” Tears streaming down his face, Mike was unable to stop himself from doing the one thing he always resisted at the hands of John Seed, he finally said yes.

“What the fuck am I doing?!” The distraught deputy said to himself that night, after Joseph had already gone to bed, “I’m fucking pledging myself to the man who was trying to kill me not too long ago.”

“Just say yes, don’t think about it. This is your best option as of late.” John was back, fully appearing in front of his old foe, without Jacob, however. “You know this is all your fault, Joseph knows it too, what he said back there was sugar coated… what’s left for you up there besides Eden’s Gate? Nothing, that’s what. Joseph directly told you that death was not in the cards for either of you yet, think rationally for once in your ignorant life… if you want to honor the deaths of all those other people you seem to love so much, is doing nothing with the rest of your life really how to go about that?” Despite the sarcastic and hostile undertones of his speech, the ghost of John Seed made sense to the already broken down Mike.

“Joining your brother is the opposite of what they would want, why should I?”

“Because” the apparition continued, “Because Joseph is the only one who can rebuild this broken world, and if you really want to save people… rebuilding civilization is the only way to do it, it makes sense if you chose to use the brain you allegedly have… make the right choice… deputy.” John’s saying of _deputy_ emanated hostility and hatred, and his point about honoring the dead hit Mike like a ton of bricks, despite his better judgement, he knew that there was not another option, and perhaps over time, Joseph could alleviate the crippling pain that he felt every waking moment.

After a night of surprisingly restful sleep, Mike woke before Joseph did, and began repairing a crack in the bunker wall that he had noticed yesterday, by the time the preacher did awake, Mike was eating breakfast.

The former Sheriff’s Deputy turned toward Joseph Seed, and with a defeated look on his face, spoke three words that he never would have imagined himself speaking… “I… seek repentance.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that's the last of the pre-written chapters for Creating Eden, like I said above, I'll hold off on any new chapters for a day or so, that way anyone who wants to comment about changes can do so. 
> 
> I know it might seem like Mike's acceptance of Joseph's prodding might be coming a little too fast, but I plan on this story being rather long, and I don't want to bog things down with tons of chapters of Mike and Joseph sitting in a bunker, things will feel paced properly when the two head to the surface, until then, expect a lot more time jumps. 
> 
> Thanks again for reading!


	3. Shepherd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been some time since Mike was broken down by Joseph's captivity, he's since opened himself to the word of his former enemy and is prepared to gather the survivors of Eden's Gate... and lead them toward a New Eden alongside Joseph.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy it's been a while! Sorry for not adding onto the story for so long, I just got caught up in a bunch of life stuff and didn't have time to write. Now though, I have nothing to do until I go back to school in August, so I'll be cranking out chapters as often as I can. Now that the apology's out of the way, I hope you enjoy chapter three of Creating Eden.

“Now, recite the goal of Eden’s Gate now that the collapse has come.”

“The old world is doomed, there is nothing left, all we have is one another… and our Father.” Mike’s black hair, that was usually shaved down had grown long and unkempt, and where there was once but a minuscule amount of stubble, a full beard had taken over his face. In his hands he held a bible, one that used to belong to Dutch, however, soon after Joseph began to teach his newest disciple the book was gutted, and replaced with hand-bound parchment, filled with Joseph’s preachings. The _Word of Joseph_ was scrawled on the cover, but the faint markings of _The King James Bible_ could still be seen, if one looked closely enough.

“Good… very good my son, you’ve learned well. You see? I told you all it would take is time. I understand that it’s been a long year, and that we’re restless, but soon we will rise from this shelter, and find our people.” Joseph looked equally disheveled, he and Mike’s time in the bunker, which had been over a year now had been rough, despite rationing the food Dutch had stashed away, their stocks grew smaller and smaller, Joseph was legitimately concerned that the two might run out of clean water before their time to ascend would come.

Standing up from the table, Joseph gently patted Mikes shoulder, and walked into another room, leaving his now very loyal follower to continue reading the new gospel of Eden’s Gate. Now alone, Mike’s thoughts began to wander, while a year ago he might’ve started to picture his friends and family, now he simply thought of leaving this bunker and marching with Joseph to their new home. It had been months since his last hallucination of the other Seed brothers, and he assumed that opening up to Joseph, and welcoming his teachings into his heart was instrumental to his new, better mental state. For over a year since he first submitted to Joseph’s teachings, Mike had spent nearly every waking hour reading from this bible of the new world, when he has not learning, he was training with the vast assortment of knives Dutch left behind, ensuring he was physically fit.

_“What are you doing?!” Mike forced his way past Joseph, but it was too late, the key to the bunker’s gun safe had dissolved in the jar of drain cleaner that was sitting near the sink. Holding the jar of cloudy liquid, he shook it angrily at the older man._

_“Saving us. Those things are a temptation… from the evils of the old world, that key made it so that one of us could follow a culture of war that had led to our downfall.” Gently taking the jar from his son’s hand, Joseph poured the contents down the drain. “This is meant to be a new beginning, if we resort to the old ways of protection, are we any better than the world we left behind?”_

_“I-I hadn’t thought of it that way… that makes sense. But what will we use to defend ourselves?”_

_“My child, when we find a way… we will know.”_

Holding onto the Bowie knife Mike had found shortly after that conversation, he practiced his strikes on a punching bag. At first, the prospect of not using his rifle to dispatch a foe seemed as alien as following Joseph, but as his hair grew longer, and his mind grew more stable Mike found the swift, pinpoint attacks of a knife to feel better than shooting someone ever had. As the blade slid in and out of the rough bag, Mike felt a strange form of serenity, if he was going back to the surface, he had to ensure that he was prepared.

_“Here… we should head back to the old Eden’s Gate compound, it’s easily defensible, and I’m sure any of us who survived would be there.” Mike pressed his finger into a map of Hope County, hoping that Joseph would agree with his idea as to where they should begin their Eden._   
_“No… not there. It anchors too many of us, myself included in the past. If our New Eden is to prosper, it must be someplace new, we shall move north, into the Whitetail Mountains.” Joseph moved Mike’s finger further up the map, which was now resting above a small lake, nestled high in the mountain range._

_“Snowshoe Lake? It’s secluded, I’m sure it’ll be a fine location.”_

_“It will do perfectly. However, we are nothing without a flock to bring into the new age. When the time is right, I shall send you forth, to gather as many of our people as you can and bring them here, from there we will move to our new home.”_

Setting the knife down on a nearby table, he retrieved a rudimentary spear, made from a sturdy piece of metal pipe and a throwing knife, a knife he had affixed to his belt the day the world ended. Examining the spear for imperfections, his gaze lingered at the tip of the knife’s blade, it was still stained with a dark brown, blood from a long-dead Eden’s Gate member, someone whom he now would’ve considered family. Finding no flaws in the homemade melee weapon, Mike began to practice… strong, precise thrusts to the center of mass, just like he had been practicing every day for the past year. While not as safe as a firearm, he didn’t have a choice in what weapon he used, “I’ll have to find a bow” Mike thought to himself. That’s one thing, no matter how much he’s changed over his time in the bunker, that Mike misses, the feel of a bowstring in his fingers, arrow ready to fly toward its target, the power that it embodies. Idly spinning the spear in his hand, over and over, rhythmically as if his hand were a windmill and lost in thought Mike didn’t hear Joseph walk up behind him, the man’s sudden exhale causing the absent minded disciple to nearly drop his weapon in shock.

“Good to see that you’re training, for the time has come. I checked the radiation levels, and it would seem that the fallout has dissipated to safe levels… you must venture upward, and seek out those who survived, only then can we move north.” Joseph handed Mike a small key, the key that unlocked the door to the entryway, the throat of the bunker, a pathway to freedom. Quickly taking the key in his grateful hands, the former deputy walked past his leader, toward the door.

“Where do I start my search, Father?”

“Begin at the old sanctuary, where it all began… then check my siblings bunkers, anyone who made it to those in time would still be alive.” Joseph, who had followed Mike to the door pulled him close and embraced him. “Be my shepherd, bring them home to me.”

Opening the door and closing it quickly, Mike grabbed a dark hoodie from a wall hanger and pulled it on, its stained fabric forming its own style of camouflage. Before ascending the steps he donned a small gas mask as a precaution. Gripping his spear tightly, he walked up the steps towards the door, and memories from what seemed like a lifetime ago washed over him, the only difference being that Dutch wasn’t around to tell him what to do, and the lush forests of Montana awaiting him no longer existed. Standing still, the masked Mike was forced to use every ounce of willpower in his body to force the heavy steel doors open… and sunlight washed over his squinting eyes.


	4. Topside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike, having learned of his new role from Joseph, is sent into the wasteland to locate as many members of Eden's Gate as he can, and send them to their Father. However, he ends up meeting a familiar face once again, John Seed, but their meeting is much more cordial.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had enough free time today to write another chapter of Creating Eden, this one is a lot longer than the first I wrote, and actually has Mike go up to the surface for the first time in over a year. We'll also get to see the deputy kick some ass like he used to, how will the surface affect Mike? I have no idea, enjoy chapter four!

  _Desert_ , was the first word that came to mind. The trees, if you could call them that, were stripped of their leaves, and most of their bark. They stood jagged and lopsided like a hellish creature’s teeth, and on the ground was dirt, as far as Mike could see. While some grass stood defiantly against nuclear radiation, it was browned by a year of exposure to the fallout that turned Mike’s once beautiful home into a toxic wasteland. Wind whipped across the cracked earth, and the landscape had changed considerably. “The water level must’ve risen twenty feet… did the dam break?” Mike asked aloud as he walked forward, his spear resting over his right shoulder. 

What started affecting him first was the eerie silence, no birds, no animals of any kind, at least none were in this area. Walking further down the path, the roof of a cabin could be seen in the distance, if his memory was correct, it was a park ranger station. After a few minutes walk, Mike was standing in the doorway of what remained of the island’s ranger outpost, his shadow cast long and deep into the main room, and ended on the back wall, leaning on the doorframe as if he were a Western hero Mike thought to himself of how he was to navigate this new world when he got lost in the old one. 

_“Look, I told you that I’m near the lake.” Mike threw his hands up, annoyed at his predicament, while knocking out an Eden’s Gate outpost, Boomer ran off to chase some poor Peggie bastard through the woods, and like the fool he was the deputy ran off to follow him._

_“Yeah… there are a lotta lakes in Hope County, amigo. Just because I’m in a plane doesn’t mean I can see you.” Nick, while trying his best couldn’t see much from the air, and began to circle around the area again. It had been a long day of mopping up the remnants of John Seed’s men after his extrajudicial killing at the hands of the Hope County Sheriff's Department, but nobody in Holland Valley seemed to care._

_“Okay well you should at least see some lake, it’s the only one near that damned outpost. Jesus why is every forest in this state so fucking huge?!” Shouting to nobody around him in particular, but causing Nick to throw off his headset in order to save his hearing, Mike’s Man vs Wild moment was interrupted by a familiar barking. “Okay I found the dog, now maybe he can lead me outta here…”_

_“Well, it’s getting dark… and Kim wants me to come home, and as much as I like you she comes first… so I gotta roll.” The distant drone of a plane’s engine grows fainter is Nick rolls away from the woods and toward his airfield._

_“Did she really tell you that or do you need to take a piss?”_

_“Both… either or… I don’t know but I’m headed home. I won’t be able to find you when it gets dark anyways.”_

_“Okay, Nick I’ll see you bright and early at your place tomorrow. It’s easier to spot John’s boys if we’re both in the plane looking.” Turning off his radio, Mike bent down to pet Boomer, and as the sunset reflected off the mountains in front of him, he suddenly felt okay with being lost… at least for an hour or two._

Snapping back to his new, post-nuclear reality, Mike couldn’t understand why he had to think of such a compromising memory, when Joseph had worked so hard to banish them from his mind. Yet, no matter how hard he tried to step backward out of the ranger station he found himself unable to move. 

“They...are...dead! Nick, Boomer… fucking everyoe! There’s nothing you can do to save them, not anymore. Just, move on, it’s what’s best for you.” With that, Mike was finally able to move once more, and began the walk to the compound. Polluted water lapped at his feet as he walked along the shore, hoping that the bridge that connected the island to the mainland was intact, and luckily it was. Halfway across the rickety structure Mike was able to get a better view at the world around him, and it wasn’t better than before. The sky was a sickly yellow, clouded by dust that swirled in the wind, the river had grown in a year, the rising water level had engulfed more of the shoreline, and in the distance he could spy Eden’s Gate’s former home, and it was swallowed by the water. On the other side of the bridge, he was able to continue the trek and Mike soon found himself standing at the decrepit fenceline, with massive lengths of barbed wire fence ripped out of the ground and lying in the dead grass. Approaching what seemed to be the only structure that wasn’t waterlogged, Mike found the door shut securely and locked tight, “A good sign.” he thought before preparing to kick the door in. 

As the hooded, gas mask clad man reared back, the door suddenly flew open, and a man wearing torn and ragged clothes tackled Mike to the ground, and a brawl ensued. Keeping his hands up to protect his face and head, Mike endured blow after blow from the emaciated man, who clearly hadn’t had a square meal in ages. Waiting for the fury of attacks to slow, Mike swiftly delivered a powerful punch to the man’s side, landing squarely on his opponents left kidney. Howling in pain, the unknown assailant leaned back, still sitting on top of Mike, who capitalized on the opportunity to scramble out from under him, and deliver another powerful blow, this time as a kick to the abdomen. Now winded, Mike’s attacker fell into the dirt with a wheeze, and lay still, sputtering. 

“He meant you no harm! Please don’t kill him!” Another person, this time a woman, in similar shape to the man walked out of the dark interior of the building, her hands above her head. Five more people followed. 

“Who the fuck are you guys? Why are you here?” Mike gestured to the man with his spear, who was still gasping for air as he was helped up by two of his friends. 

“We are from the Project at Eden’s Gate, please… do not harm us.” The women who had spoken first begged him, with fear in her voice. 

Mike tossed his spear blade first into the ground, leaving his weapon behind he approached the woman, and took her hand in his. “I was sent by our Father, I am his shepherd… I am to bring you all back to him.” 

The woman’s eyes lit up, she turned to the rest of her group, who now sported massive smiles. “We are saved! At last our Father has returned to us.” She quickly turned back to face her savior, “You have to tell us, where is he? Is he alright?”

Mike chuckled through the filter of his gas mask, his voice distorted. “He’s fine, he saved my life in fact, saved me in more ways than one. We are safe and well fed in a bunker on an island… that island, in fact. Much closer than you would’ve thought.” Mike pointed toward Dutch’s island.

“We must head there now!” He could hear the elation in this woman’s voice, she let go of Mike’s hands and turned to the others. 

“Just follow the shore, it leads you to a bridge, then follow the path into the woods… takes you right to the bunker. Are there any others around here?”

“We came from John’s bunker, but I must warn you… the situation there isn’t good, we have little food and more leave every day.”

“I’ll hurry then. Once I’ve gathered as many as I can… Joseph will lead us all to a New Eden, and we will prosper.” With that, Mike retrieved his spear, and bid his new friends farewell for now, and turned his attention to the south, and began walking once more. 

After an hour of walking, Mike was standing at the path that ran up the mountain, and would take him directly to John’s bunker. “The last time I was here… wasn’t for the right reasons.”

_John Seed sat upright against a rock, the afternoon sun shining on his face, although he wasn’t enjoying a walk in the woods, as the front his chest was coated in a fresh layer of blood. He had managed to land his plane in a clearing, but the damage done by that wrathful deputy and his friend Nick Rye had taken its toll on the man’s body, as his prized aircraft was shot to ribbons, multiple bullets from both planes found their way into his torso, by the amount of blood he was losing, the Inquisitor knew he didn’t have long._

_“John! There you are, we have to hurry… those sinners are coming for you.” Someone found him, John couldn’t believe his luck as one of his most loyal men ran toward him, bandages in had. However, he never made it to his wounded leader, the crack of a gunshot rang out from the trees, and with a pained grunt, and blood pouring from his mouth, the hopeful medic fell into the dark green grass._

_“You’re a bitch to find, you know that? Had to do actual police work, weird isn’t it… that I get to do my real job for once, and find a missing person.” Mike walked out from behind a tree and cycled his lever action rifle with a satisfying metallic clank, he walked toward John, but not before, in mid stride firing another round into the back of the already dead medic’s head. One more clank later, the barrel of a loaded rifle was pressed against John’s chest._

_“You won’t beat Eden’s Gate, even if you kill me right now. Our work is already underway.”_

_“Can it, asshole!” Mike swung the barrel of his firearm into the side of John’s face with a pop. “I don’t want to hear a word from you, all I want to do, is for you to look at me while my wrathful self puts a bullet straight into your heart.”_

_“Then you shall have your wish… wrath.” A sickening smile spread across John’s face, “I… win you insolent fo-” A gunshot cut off the dying man’s final insult and blood spattered on Mike’s jeans._

Shaking the memory out of his mind, Mike continued his walk toward the bunker. As he reached the top, though he was startled by someone appearing in his peripheral vision, and soon found himself under attack. 

“For the Father!” A man shouted as he charged Mike with a rusty pipe, cut jaggedly to form a blade. Mike sidestepped his attack, but realized that he was now facing six foes. Another ran straight toward him, however this attacker was quickly disarmed by the rear end of Mike’s spear as the metal body of the weapon came crashing down on her hands. 

“Stop, dammit, I’m here to talk to you.”

“We see through your lies, sinner!” Another attack began. This time from the rear, jamming his spear into the dirt road, Mike spun around and ran at this new opponent, taking him by surprise and in one swift motion, Mike had placed his arms around the man’s waist and tackled him to the dirt like a linebacker would sack a quarterback, delivering a quick punch to the downed attacker’s face, knocking them out cold, Mike spun around to find his spear in the hands of the man who had initiated the onslaught from the trees. A lazy throw sent the spear hurtling awkwardly into the air, directly toward Mike, who caught the slow moving weapon, and in smoothly spinning it around, over his left shoulder and into his right hand, and proceeded to launch the spear into the same man’s foot. 

With a howl of pain, the man collapsed to the ground, clutching his foot and screaming for help, the rest of these forest dwellers stepped toward their friend, but refused to take their eyes off of Mike. 

“The father sent me, you idiots. I’m his shephard, I’m ordered to bring you to him, Eden’s Gate lives on.” The attackers, now slackjawed, picked up their two incapacitated allies and motioned for Mike to follow them into the bunker. What Mike found was nothing short of anarchy. 

“We ran out of food two days ago!”

“Well we didn’t have much to begin with, damn sinners wiped out most of the supplies.”

“Where is the Father?!”

Mike passed the chaos, still following the party of scouts deeper into the bunker. Eventually, after passing what seemed like dozens of people, he had arrived at the deepest point that was still accessible in the facility. And before him was a large man sitting at a table. 

“So, you’re this shephard, the one to lead us back to the Father, why has he been silent all this time? Why not come himself?” The man leaned forward and eyed Mike curiously. 

“He didn’t know how dangerous the surface was, he and I have been in a bunker for the past year… he sent me on his behalf to find as many of us as I could.”

“Well, if what you say is true, then I can wrangle up as many people as I can and send them to make sure you’re telling the truth. Where is the Father?”

Mike walked over to a map of Hope County hanging on the concrete wall and pointed to the island, “Right here, this island… there’s a bunker, won’t hold everyone but the Father doesn’t plan on staying there for long, wants to move north, into the mountains.” 

Leaning back, the man in charge of the bunker looks pleased, “Okay, I’ll send a few men that way, if they find the Father alive and well they’ll report back. Now, is there anything else that we can do for you, brother?” 

“Have you seen anyone else? Any survivors who aren’t part of the Project?” 

“Not really, there was one in what was left of Falls End, but she shot at us on sight, wasn’t worth the hassle. But that was months ago.” 

“That’s Mary, it has to be… still protecting her bar, that’d be just like her.” Mike thought to himself, “Thank you, brother, the Father is waiting for you, our New Eden awaits… I’ll see myself out. If you make it to the bunker before me, tell the Father that I’m looking for more of us.” 

“Can do, I hope to see you soon.” 

With that, Mike turned on his heel, and walked out of the room. After leaving the bunker, Mike once more found himself in the wasteland, but rather than walk down the road, he turned to the southeast into the woods, where he was hoping to find a relic from his past life. After some guesswork, Mike found the wreckage of what used to be a silver prop plane its paint having faded, still sitting where it was left a year ago, still raked with bullet holes, its cockpit still stained with blood. And less than a hundred yards away, are two skeletons, one sprawled out on the dusty ground, and one resting next to a blood-stained rock. 

“I’m sorry, John… if I had known… I wouldn’t have done what I did.” 

“Well, it’s the thought that counts I suppose, even though you executed me at point blank range.” The sudden appearance of a voice behind Mike nearly made him jump out of his skin, turning around he saw someone he hadn’t seen since that night while still handcuffed in the bunker. 

“Why are you here, John?” 

 “I’m not sure, really. You seem complacent with following my brother like a show dog, so there’s no need to torment you. Perhaps you wanted to talk to me…” The spirit sauntered past the bewildered man toward his remains, “Shame, not how I wanted to be left, a real burial would’ve been nice.” 

 “I think I feel the need to make amends with everyone I’ve killed, you’re a good start then, John. Give me a few minutes.” Mike jogged back up the hill toward the bunker, and returned ten minutes later with a shovel, and began digging a shallow hole, upon its completion, Mike carefully moved John’s remains into the shallow grave, the spirit watching the entire time. With the grave covered back up, Mike used some plant fiber and sticks to fashion a rudimentary cross, and stuck it at the head of the grave. 

“Not exactly quality work, but it will do, thank you.” 

 "Wow, legitimate praise coming from John Seed, that’s rare.”

“You’re pushing it.”

 “I’m joking, if i’m going to hallucinate at least it’s a nice vision. But in all honesty, John, I hope this isn’t going to be a common occurance.”

 “Likewise, I still don’t like you all that much, but it’s nice to know that my skeleton isn’t open to being grabbed by some mutt as a toy.” John began to fade away before Mike’s eyes, “Until we meet again, deputy.” Mike stood there, now alone, or… always having been alone as nobody else could see these hallucinations and thought. 

 “Closure, that’s what’s holding me back from fully committing to the Father, if I’m to embrace this new world, I have to put the old one to rest… I have to face the past, so I can burn it forever.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed chapter three and four! I'm about to go to bed so I'm going to stop writing today, but expect another chapter either tomorrow or in the next day or so. I know the flashback with John didn't feature game-accurate dialogue, but I can totally picture the deputy cutting John off and killing him immediately, after all John is a maniac. Chapter five will be about Mike facing his past, and attempting to get closure in a world when he thinks everyone he used to love is dead, so that'll be really lighthearted and fun!


	5. Ghosts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After finding what remained of Eden's Gate, Mike left the ruins of John Seed's bunker behind and ventured south toward Fall's End. Not knowing what he would find there, Mike simply hoped he would find answers to what had been eating at him, and hoped that he could find a way to let go of the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I'm really sorry for going AWOL for this long, probably had you thinking I had abandoned this little tale, but I didn't! I just got a little busy with life and school, and had to put personal stuff like this aside, but after playing Far Cry 5 again, I got hit with some writing inspiration, and had decided to pick this fic back up. So I'll try to make the long wait up to you all by pumping out a few more chapters this week, so sit back, relax and enjoy some more Creating Eden!

Walking down the hill, away from the bunker, and away from a grave that should have been dug a year ago, Mike wandered the cracked, desert landscape of Holland Valley, walking past blackened husks of cars, long-dead drivers still strapped to their seats, he did not know what he was looking for specifically, but deep down he knew he had to face the past. "This is worse than I thought, not a drop of water around... maybe the people in the bunker are right... maybe there isn't anyone left" the survivor thought to himself. However, after some time, he found what he was looking for... the past. 

Fall's End had seen better days, most of the buildings were gone, reduced to burnt rubble, those that still stood were starting to be buried in a mixture of ash and dust, but Mike could still make out the roads that he had walked for his entire life. One of the few buildings to remain standing, and even more so, structurally sound was The Spread Eagle, the last place he had expected to be standing outside. While most of the signage had fallen down, or been taken by someone, one of the few things that remained to mark the building as the bar Mike had spent too much time inside was a tattered poster, barely hanging from the wooden exterior. The poster simply read:  _WANTED: SINNER,_ and featured a faded, crudely drawn image of Mike himself, still wearing the Hope County Sheriff uniform that he sported as an act of defiance to the Father, it seemed like a lifetime ago. The door into the bar was left slightly ajar, and mustering up as much courage as he possibly could, the gas mask wearing figure pushed it open, and walked inside. 

  _Music blared from the speakers scattered around the walls, some generic country music that everyone in Montana loved by requirement, maybe it was Toby Kieth... Mike wasn't sure, he was never into the stuff. But that's not what he cared about, his focus was on the people standing around the bar, who had yet to notice his presence. Nick, Kim, Pastor Jerome, Grace and Hurk, all drinking and enjoying a moment of peace, and of course, making sure there wasn't a dry glass in the house was Mary._

_"Good to see you all enjoying our victory today." Said the Deputy as he walked up to the group, who greeted him with applause and calls of encouragement, he grabbed a glass filled to the brim with whiskey and took a drink._

_"We gave those Peggies one hell of a black eye today!" Said Nick, clapping Mike on the back._

_"Sure did! Blew them fuckers sky high!" Hurk screamed, louder than acceptable, almost slipping off his bar stool._

_"Let's have some fun, get drunk, but not too drunk... lot of cleaning up to do in the morning, also I can't have you guzzling down my entire stockroom." Mary passed around one final bottle of whiskey and took a drink from her own glass, before turning to Mike. "I just need to tell you, Mike, you're a hell of a cop, and a hell of a friend."_

_"Here here!" Nick shouted, with everyone else in the bar following suit._

_"No, no, this isn't about me... I couldn't have done any of the stuff I did today without all of you having my back, I owe you guys too much to repay, but I can try." Mike took another drink of whiskey before recapping what had happened as soon as he had gone off to find John's crashed plane, and his friends hung on every word._

Snapping back to reality, Mike found himself standing in a dark room, full of dust, lit only by the cracks in the ceiling and broken windows. "They're gone, nothing I can do about it... just have to look around, face facts... then I can move on with my life." He walked deeper into the bar, his hand scraping across the decrepit counter, fingers gathering dust as he knocked a glass onto the floor, the noise of it shattering reverberated through the structure with an eerie crack. "Mary, are you in here? It's me... Mike, let me help you." Mike called out to his friend, hoping to hear a response, but all he heard was the gentle sound of wind gusting through the windows, and no sight nor sound of Mary. Walking back behind the bar, he looked at where the liquor used to be stored, but found nothing but empty bottles and shell casings. The kitchen was equally empty, no food or water to be seen, the place was either looted, or Mary had gone through what little provisions she had when the bombs dropped. Moving toward the staircase, Mike saw the broken arcade machine that he and Hurk spend hours trying to beat each other's high scores on, screen broken and paint peeling. Walking up the stairs, each one creaking loudly with each step, Mike eased toward the door, finding it closed but unlocked. Hoping someone was still in the bedroom, he called out into the darkness, "Mary, it's Mike, are you in there?". Hearing no response, he pushed the door open, and saw what he had feared, but in his subconscious had expected, a decaying corpse sitting against the far wall, rifle in hand. 

"Fuck..." Mike dropped to his knees in front of the body. Its clothes were rotting away, and most of its flesh had decayed, but he didn't need any police work to infer whose body it was. Shaking his head, with tears welling up in his eyes he placed a heavy hand on the skeletal shoulder of his friend, the radiation had simply been too high, and Mike knew she had been dead for weeks. "I-I'm so... so sorry, Mary." Mike leaned back to a sitting position, staring aimlessly at the vacant eye sockets of the corpse, he began to panic, his breathing grew labored and he started sweating profusely, ripping off the gas mask and taking a deep breath, Mike began to sob, harder than he had in his entire life. Hot tears ran down his cheeks as he lost his grip on reality, he had wished, more so than ever that he died in the explosions, that Joseph had left him up on the surface to suffer with his friends. After the sobbing stopped, he simply sat on the dirty floor of Mary's bedroom, staring at her, completely catatonic. 

"Shes's gone, so what? Is that going to be the end for you? You've known she's been dead, what difference does seeing a corpse make?" Jacob's voice echoed throughout the room as he sat down next to Mike, who either didn't notice, or refused to knowledge his existence. "Look at me, or fuck it, don't, but listen to me and listen well. They're all gone, they were weak and they were culled with most of the world, you are still here, because you have a purpose. I still don't know what Joseph sees in you, but he knows that you have a greater calling in this world, so even if the reality... or survivor's guilt is hard to bear you have to keep moving, because you are the strongest of them all. If you weren't, then another one of them would've replaced you, keep moving because you don't have a choice. Don't be weak, because you see what that gets you." The spirit gestured to Mary's body, and began to dissipate. "Get over it, hanging on is selfish... and greedy."

Despite not wanting to admit it, Mike knew that Jacob was right, he couldn't hang onto the past, he had to let go. Grabbing a tattered blanket from atop Mary's bed, he laid it down and gently moved his friend's remains onto it, before wrapping her inside. Walking carefully down the stairs, and back through the memories Mike found himself standing behind The Spread Eagle, the bundle laying beside him, and a small ditch dug out in the fresh dirt with his hands. "It shouldn't have ended like this, I should've been there... but I can't change the past, but I can realize my mistakes." Finding himself content with his final statement to Mary, he rolled the blanket into the grave as respectfully as he could, before covering the dark red makeshift casket, and sticking Mary's rifle, barrel down into the dirt as a headstone, "See you in the next life, old friend."

Walking south from Fall's End, Mike knew that there was one more stop he had to make before returning to The Father, and after a ten minute walk from The Spread Eagle, he stood at the entrance to a small dirt drive, a metal sign hanging lopsided from a single chain,  _Rye and Son's Aviation._ "He never did change the sign..." Mike chuckled to himself as he walked up the dusty road, Nick and Kim's house was in a severe state of disrepair, sections of the roof were completely gone and it didn't appear that there was an intact window on the entire structure. Not sure what to expect, Mike walked inside and found the inside of the house equally worse for wear, dust coated everything like fresh snow, and there weren't any signs of footprints, he was the first person to enter this house in months. Checking the first floor, he found nothing of interest, some broken picture frames, the family memories inside bleached by the harsh post-nuclear sun, climbing up the stairs he made his way into the guest bedroom that Kim had insisted he use as often as possible, sleep wasn't a luxury he had when dealing with Eden's Gate.

_"Mike, you have to rest, you've been fighting the Peggies for days without stopping, you're gonna end up shooting someone you didn't mean to." Kim, always the realist gently grabbed Mike's arm before he and Nick could leave the house, despite not wanting to let anyone else handle the problem, Mike understood that sleep is an important thing to have when fighting what was essentially a war, so against his own self-interest, he turned away from Nick, who was holding the door open, and set his rifle down on the couch._

_"You drive a hard bargain, but I think you're right... I should get some rest." Mike rubbed his temple, suddenly realizing how tired he really was._

_"You can crash in the guest room upstairs, I'll wake you up if any Peggies come by, Nick, I'm sure the guys in town could still use you." Kim kissed her husband goodbye and led Mike upstairs to the guest bedroom, before telling him to sleep for as long as he needed to and shutting the door._

_"I'll never be able to thank that woman."_

_"Aw, hearing you admit that is all the thanks I need, have a good nap, you dutiful hero you." Kim's footsteps grew distant as she walked down the stairs. Mike collapsed onto the bed, a smile across his face as he drifted off to sleep._

"God that bed was comfortable, nothing like in the bunker." Mike stood in the center of the room, looking at the peeling wallpaper and cracked windows, sunlight illuminating the tattered landscape paintings he once admired while drifting off to sleep. Leaving his old room, he walked into Nick and Kim's, the large king-sized bed was in shambles, and an inch of fresh dust coated the floor and furniture, however what caught his eye was the large safe in the corner, which was wide open. Mike remembered Nick telling him about the emergency money and important documents he kept in there, and that made him wonder if his old friend had emptied it out before heading somewhere new, banishing the brief moment of inquisitive joy from his mind, Mike left the room and passed by a smaller bedroom, with a remarkably intact crib in the center, leaning against the door frame, he wondered if his friends were alive after all.

_"Not a bad lookin' kid if I do say so myself." Nick boasted, hovering over his daughter's crib, "Come take a look at er', Mike, what do ya' think?"_

_Mike walked over and stood at the foot of the crib, first looking at Nick, beaming with pride and then to Kim, whose face had a look of embarrassment on behalf of her husband. "She looks great, and she's got some great parents too."_

_"She also has a pretty great godfather... I just want to say thank you again, for everything that you've done for the three of us, she wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you, Mike." Kim walked past Nick and wrapped the Deputy in a tight hug, while initially surprised, Mike returned her kindness with an equally strong embrace._

_"If you ever need anything at all down the road, a babysitter, an errand boy, anything, just give me a call, and I'll be out here as quick as I can be." Mike knew that after everything these two had done for him, the least he could do was be there when they needed him, after all, he had a goddaughter to help look after._

_"Yeah, you're a good guy, and a great friend, we love ya' man." Nick put a hand on Mike's shoulder, and at that moment the Deputy felt as if everything was going to turn out just fine, for everyone._

"If only thing's could stay like that forever..." Mike stepped out of the nursery and headed back down the stairs, and walked back out into the wasteland, and headed north. "If you're out there, Nick, keep your family safe..." 

Despite a burning desire to drop everything, throw his commitment to Joseph away and find Nick, Kim and everyone else, Mike knew he couldn't. The Father gave him a way out when he felt truly lost and alone, he couldn't turn his back on that, or on the people he knew he had to protect back at the bunker, regardless of how easy it would be to prowl Hope County, to search for the people he wanted to find, he knew that it was nothing but wishful thinking. No, his role had changed, and Mike understood that his loyalties, whether he liked it or not, did not lie with the people he once fought alongside. To turn his back on The Father, and on those people from John's bunker and the old compound, that would be greedy, and that was exactly what Mike was trying to distance himself from... his old ways, the man he used to be. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed chapter one of Creating Eden! 
> 
> I tried my best to make the ghosts/hallucinations of John and Jacob seem accurate, with Jacob being his usual Social-Darwinist self and John being an all around dick, they'll be recurring characters as they continue to appear as Mike loses his grip on reality.


End file.
